She’s only 5, but she knows the major players in Black history. That’s because she’s dressed up as many of them.
When Taylor Trotter decided to teach her daughter, Paisley, about Black history, she did it in a unique way. Each day during February, she dresses Paisley as a Black trailblazer — past and present.
“I knew I had to make a conscientious effort to teach her about the Black side of her and the Black history,” Trotter told CNN. “And I want this to help her become confident in loving who she is.”
This year, Paisley has been Ida B. Wells and Amanda Gorman, James Armistead Lafayette and Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman.
Tributes have also included a focus on people who have died at the hands of police. Paisley depicts George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Amadou Diallo, Aaron Campbell, Eleanor Bumpers, Randolph Evans, Yvette Smith, Henry Dumas, Tarika Wilson, Tamir Rice not only in dress and posture, but also in expression.
Each post is accompanied by a history lesson on the person Paisley is depicting.
“Nicknamed ‘Fly Girl,’ Vernice, the former US Marine Corps officer, became the first African American female combat pilot in the US Armed Forces, recognized by the Department of Defense, AND the first African American female naval aviator in the Marines,” Trotter begins the post on Vernice Armour.
Feb. 1 this year was dedicated to Vice President Kamala Harris, with Paisley dressed as Harris the little girl and Harris the candidate.
“Pais, do not ever let someone tell you there’s a job ‘too big for you,’ an aspiration ‘too high for you,’ or that your goals are ‘unattainable.’ YOU are the one you need to listen to; your heart, your brain, your gut, and your goals for yourself. You are more than capable, you’ve got such spirit and determination, that I already know you won’t let anyone or anything step in your way,” Trotter wrote at the end of her post on Harriet Woods Hill.
You can find the posts on Trotter’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.
Go to AJC.com/black-history-month for more stories on people, places and organizations that have changed the world, and to see videos on the African American pioneers featured here each day.
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